Cement finishing knee board



Feb. 3, 1953 EMMETT 2,627,301

CEMENT FINISHING KNEE BOARD Filed Aug. 4, 1950 Fly.)

HIE; 1

Thomas 0. E mmelf IN V EN TOR.

BY M mas Patented Feb. 3, 1953 CEMENT FINISHING KNEE BOARD Thomas D. Emmett, Knoxville, Tenn., assignor of fifteen per cent to Sophia Emmett, fifteen per cent to Tom Emmett, Jr., and fifteen per cent to John Emmett, all of Fountain City,

Tenn.

Application August 4, 1950, Serial No. l77,587

This invention relates to new and useful improvements. in knee boards of the type used by cement finishers for support.

The primary object of this invention is to support cement finishers upon unset concrete in such a manner that their weight will be distributed over a wide area, and in such a manner that will preclude gouging of the surface by the feet, or the like.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a device of this character which will permit rapid travel of the workman and which will alsoaiford him maximum comfort. -,.Sti1l another important object of this invention is to provide a device of this character which will be adjustable so as to conform to legs of different proportions and size.

A meritorious feature, of the present invention resides in the provision of an adjustable support for the calf portion of the user's leg to make the device conformable to legs of different size and to also provide a greater area of support for the operator, together with the provision of securing means on the support so as to be intermediate the knee and foot supporting portions of. the device so as to more efficiently secure the same to the user.

Yet another important feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a toe holder,

for not only supporting the users foot but also for preventing the toe moving into a position to gouge the surface of the unfinished work.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of the invention which will later be-.

come apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the presentinventipn, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the present invention, this view being taken upon the plane of the section line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view of the adjustable support and the securing means, this view being taken upon the plane of the section line 4-4 of Figure l and upon an enlarged scale.

Reference is now made more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, and in which the numeral l0 designates the knee board generally.

The knee board l0 comprises an elongated base 12 having a plane under surface 14, such base l2 being relatively wider at the leading end than the trailing end and is concaved along its side 8 Claims. (Cl. -166) edges intermediate such ends, as will be clearly apparent from the drawings, It will be understood that the base |2 may be formed of any suitable material, such as wood, metal, or plastic; however, in the preferred construction plywood is employed in the interest of strength and lightness in weight, it being particularly noted that plywood possesses unusual resistance to warping due to any moisture that may be absorbed there- A knee cushion, designated generally at 16, is provided at the larger end of the base l2, which comprises a block of cushioning material such as that formed from a plurality of layers of sponge rubber, or the like, I8. The layers l8 are secured to the base l2 and protected from the ingress of water by a flexible, preferably waterproof covering or casing 20 that has its lower marginal edges secured to the base 12 by means of a peripheral securing strip 22 and fasteners 24.

A prop-type toe holder designated generally at 26 is provided at the smaller end of the base l2, which consists of a U-shaped mounting bracket 28 secured to the base l2 by means of fasteners 30 extending through the web portion thereof. The bracket 28 has suitably secured thereto at its upper end an open, substantially rectangular-shaped frame 32 that lies in a plane substantially parallel to that of the base I2. The forward member of the frame 32 is slightly V- shaped and disposed in a plane extending downwardly and forwardly toward the knee cushion l 6, as clearly shown at 34 in the drawing, so that the thus especially shaped frame 32 constitutes a stirrup and is well adapted to receive the toe of a users foot when his knee rests upon the knee cushion I6, as will be readily understood.

The knee board I 0 also includes a novel saddle assembly 36 disposed between the knee cushion l6 and the toe holder 26 for not only securing the knee board to the user, but also to providea skin support for the user between his knee and his foot, such means being adjustable, as will presently appear for the purpose of making the knee board adjustable for use by men having legs of various sizes and proportions. The assembly 36 includes a concavo-convex plate or yoke 38 which carries at its center a depending, externally threaded stud 4D. The plate 38 has the concaved upper side thereof covered by a sheet of cushioning material such as the layer of felt 42 that extends upwardly from the lateral edges of the plate 38, the layer of felt 42 being thickened as at 44 to constitute substantially acontlnuation in thickness of the juxtaposed portion of the layer of felt and the plate 38. It will thus be seen that the plate 38 and the layer of felt 42 together constitute a C-shaped shin saddle, the central portion of which is padded and substantially rigid, and the marginal edges of which have a 3 limited d egree oi flexibility so as to conform to legs of different sizethatmay'be receivedtherein. The plate 38 and the layer of felt 42 are encased in a suitable covering 46 of some strong, yet flex; ible material such as canvas or leather, and leather straps 48 and 56 carryinga buckle 52 are suitably secured to the marginal edges of the C- shaped saddle by fasteners d so that the m1:

portion of a users leg may be secured therein.

The threaded stud 40 extends downwardly through a nut 56 carried by an angulated bracket 58 that is itself secured to the base l2 by means of a fastening screw 6!]. It will thus be seen that the shin saddle or assembly 35 may beadjusted vertically by turning the stud 49 in the nut 56, each, 189 of rotation of the same constituting a serare s e sht ustment of h me It will also be neted that the saddle 3 6 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the knee cushion it in the preferred construction so that the users leg will be inclined'upwardly andrearwardly from the knee, as will be readily understood.

Itisto beparticularly noted that the toe holder or stirrup 23 will hold the users foot in such a position so as not to gouge the surface of the work,and, that the securing means will hold the device it] in firm engagement with the user at the knee cushion, the shin saddle assembly 36 and the toe stirrup 26.

Since, from the foregoingthe construction and advantages of this knee board are readily apparent, further description is believed to be unnecessary,

However, since numerous modifications and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not intended tolimit the invention to the exact embodiment shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having describedthe invention, what is claimed as new is:

1, A knee. board comprising a base having a plane under surface, a cushion mounted on the leading end of said base for supporting a users knee, a separate and independent concaved saddle carried by the base rearwardly of the cushion for receiving and supporting a users leg between his knee and his foot, means for adjusting said saddle vertically, and strap means carri ed by the saddle for securing the same to the users leg.

2. A concrete finishers kneeling board comprising a base having a plane under surface adapted to rest firmly throughout its area on a concrete surface, a cushion mounted on said base for supporting a users knee, a cushioned shin saddle carried by the base and spaced rearwardly of the cushion and inclined with respect to the plane under surface upwardly from the cushion for receiving and supporting a users leg between his knee and his foot, separate means on said base for adjusting said saddle vertically, and strap means carried by the saddle for securing the same to the users leg.

3. The, combination of claim 1, including a separate toe holder on the base rearwardly of the saddle, said holder being elevated above the base andhaving an opening therein for receiving the 'toeportionofa users foot. r

4IA concrete finishers kneeling device comprising a fiat bottomed base adapted to ride in shiftable contact with a surface, a knee pad mounted-atop the leading end of said base, a toe accommodating frame having a V-shaped for ward portion and constituting an elevating stirrup, means supporting said frame in a horizontal elevated plane above the trailing end portion of said base, and a cushioned shin seating support on the intermediate portion of said base.

5. The structure defined in claim 4, wherein said supporting means is a U-shaped bracket having a bight portion, secured to said base and arm portions secured to said frame 6 Thestructure defined in claim 4, wherein said shin seating support is a padded O-shaped saddle which is provided with retaining straps, said saddle being inclined with respect'to said knee pad and base, means being provided to adjustably mountsaid saddle on said base.

'7. A concrete finishers kneeling device comprising a flat bottomed base adapted to ride in shiftable contact with a surface, a knee pad mounted atop the leading end of said base, a bracket secured to and rising vertically from the intermediate portion of said base, a concavoconvex yoke, means adjustably connecting said yoke to said bracket, conformable encased cushioning material carried by said yoke, retaining strap means united with said cushioning material, a toe frame, and means securing said frame in an elevated position to the trailing end portion of said base.

8. A concrete finishers kneeling device comprising a fiat bottomed base adapted to ride in shiftable contact with a concrete or an equivalent surface, a knee pad mounted atop the leading end of said base, a U-shaped bracket including a bight portion and arm portion, said bight portion being secured to the top of said base adjacent the trailing end of the base, ahoriz ontally disposed frame secured to the upper ends of the arms of said brackets, said frame being generally rectangular and having a forward V-shaped portion and constituting a toe receiving and supporting stirrup, a second bracket secured to the intermediate portion of the top of said base and spaced rearwardly from the knee pad and forwardly in relation to the stirrup, a yoke provided with a depending stud adjustablymounted on said bracket, cushioning means, a casing for said cushioning means, said casing and cushioningmeans being attached to said yoke and provided with adjustable leg fastening straps.

THOMAS D. EMMETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,382,883 Ashbridge June 28, 1921 2,448,427 Gordon Aug. 31, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 76,094 Germany July 9, 1894 

